The pact, signed on Friday in Tokyo by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi , marked the first time Japan agreed to such a deal with a country that is not a member of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Critics in Japan, the victim of US atomic bombings in the final days of World War II, have previously raised concerns about a risk of the country's technology being diverted to India's nuclear weapons programme.

Yet, the deal is limited to peaceful commercial use, and Tokyo cam terminate it if India conducts a nuclear test.

The pact allows India to reprocess fuel and enrich uranium, though highly enriched uranium that can be used to make nuclear weapons is not permitted without written agreement by Japan.

India's Nuclear Riddle - People & Power
Abe and Modi insisted the agreement will contribute to peaceful use of clean energy.

"This agreement sets a legal framework to assure that India acts responsibly for the peaceful uses of nuclear energy," Abe said, adding that it gets India to effectively participate in the non-proliferation treaty framework.

"It is also in line with Japan's position to promote non-proliferation to create a world without nuclear weapons."

Abe's pro-business government seeks to export nuclear power plants to counter shrinking sales at home since the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, and has discussed similar deals with Vietnam and Turkey.

Modi praised the signing as "a historic step in our engagement to build a clean energy partnership" that will help India to "combat the challenge of climate change".

Anti-nuclear groups denounced the agreement, citing threats to safety and regional peace and increased risk of proliferation.

"There is no effective separation between India’s nuclear energy programme and its weapons programme, and the Japanese government’s agreement conditions are meaningless," Shaun Burnie, a senior nuclear specialist at Greenpeace Japan, said in a statement .

"Approving nuclear trade with India is a geo-strategic decision to support further nuclear weapons proliferation in Asia."

The women of Fukushima, an anti-nuclear lobbying group, have issued an appeal to Modi to visit the disaster area and see at first hand the consequences of nuclear power.

"Nuclear power plants will not bring happiness to your citizens," the group said in an open letter.

"We who experienced the injury of the nuclear accident, we came to understand this through our own bodies and lives."

Energy-hungry India wants to increase nuclear power generation to support its strong economic growth. The country has signed similar nuclear agreements with France, Russia, Britain and the United States.

Several US media outlets said on Friday that Obama administration officials acknowledged the TPP deal has no way forward in the remaining days of his presidency, which ends in January.

They say opposition to the multilateral trade deal by president-elect Donald Trump and Republican lawmakers has effectively killed its chances.

White House official Ben Rhodes said on Friday that President Obama is planning to meet with leaders of TPP member countries when they gather at an APEC summit starting next Saturday in Peru.

Obama is likely to press home the importance of the economic and security implications of the trade pact.

Some countries are proposing negotiations for a new economic agreement that excludes the United States.

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"Facebook is capping one of the longest weeks in American history by telling everyone that they are dead," quipped The Verge, a technology website, in reference to the presidential election.
The memorial feature was introduced by Facebook in 2015 because of a number of high-profile cases where family wanted to access the social accounts of deceased loved ones.
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An alternative option is to have your account deleted after your death.

Ms Lagarde said the latest "home-grown economic plan" was intended to tackle the country's large budget deficit, low growth and high unemployment rate.
She said that further reforms, such as reductions in fuel subsidies and legislation to reduce Egypt's public sector wage bill, were necessary for the country to move forward.
"Resolute implementation of the policy package is essential to restore investor confidence," Ms Lagarde said.
In 2013, Egypt's first democratically elected president, Mohammed Morsi, was ousted by the military, led by Gen Sisi, after only one year in power.
Mr Sisi was later elected president in May 2014.

The State Secretary informed the guests of the commitment of the Government of Mongolia to fulfill its platform of actions, with special accent on the essential economic sectors – mining, infrastructure and constructions.

In turn, Mr Lu Bing, while noting China and Mongolia are important partners for each other, expressed willingness on behalf of his company to cooperate with the Mongolian government on major construction projects.